More Wins or More Recruits by Christmas?

In the newest column on JohnnyJungle.com “Over the Airwaves” the opinions of WSJU Radio personalities Dan Martin and Timmy Dzeladini-Dimas will be on display on a hot topics of debate regarding St. John’s Basketball. It’s the oldest argument of time, what came first? The Chicken or the Egg? In college basketball and more so in recent years for St. John’s it’s been wins or recruits? You need the recruits to win but you need to win to get the recruits. So the question is posed, will Steve Lavin have more wins or more recruits signed for the 2011 class by Christmas?

The decision to hire Steve Lavin at St. John’s was a multifaceted one. Not only were they looking for a talented mind when it comes to X’s and O’s, an oft-criticized aspect of Norm Roberts’ time in Queens, but also a man whose name carries weight and respect when discussed in the circles of elite recruits.

With the pieces that this 2010 roster has, a well-coached Lavin unit has the skill to succeed, while, at the same time, the Class of 2011 will provide the future of this program.

Steve Lavin is ultimately in control of which way this program goes at a very pivotal position in its history. Time, something like a Christmas deadline, might be the biggest question. Because of years of being off the national recruiting radar, this is the year to turn the boat 180 degrees and head in the right direction. Right now, all vital signs are positive. As of August 30th, ESPN Insider Recruiting lists eight recruits it its Top 100 as being “considering” St. John’s. Though “considering” is a very non-committal word, the fact that the Johnnies are on that many lists is an indication of a return to the forefront.

Unfortunately, analysts do not expect this St. John’s recruiting class to be full of these Top 100 players. Though clichéd, Rome wasn’t built in a day. To land just one blue chipper would be a huge victory, rounding the rest of the class out with solid players to build around. This year is more about putting St. John’s back on the national scene more than instantly drawing recruits like Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke do.

As far as recruits before a deadline, Steve Lavin might be just the man to bring results. Just five weeks after being hired as the head coach, he was able to lure Los Angeles City Player of the Year Dwayne Polee all the way from the West Coast to Queens. But, realistically, it won’t matter how soon the recruits commit, but moreso that they do, right?

The second front to cover is how Coach Lavin will arrange the pieces that he inherited from the recruiting work of Norm Roberts. Since they came in as freshman, the buzzword has been “time”: time to mature, time to gel, time to rise back to the top of the Big East. Last year had been deemed the year that the check would finally be cashed, but only a disappointing first round exit from the NIT followed.

Many question, and validly, what immediate difference a coaching change can make when the integral players are staying the same. With an established chemistry, there seems to be little room for innovation with such a large group of seniors. Fortunately, Lavin need not change any of those things. What he will bring is a system; a proven framework that, when the right players are inserted, brings success.

The Red Storm was notorious last season for losing second half leads and having many “Ten Minute Meltdowns”, notably against Villanova and West Virginia. That is something that an experienced and seasoned coach can stop before it happens. Game management is as much a mark of a good coach as recruiting, and it seems Lavin has “it”, something a quick look at his NCAA resume can confirm.

When Christmas comes around, it will probably be decided whether Lavin is on the naughty or the nice list of Johnnies fans. Of the ten or so games that will be played before the holiday, mostly against weaker non-conference teams, look for the Red Storm to win seven, giving them, most likely, far more wins than commits, though it is interesting to weigh with all the optimism that exists today. But, in both, it’s not about how you start, but how you finish; the difference between going to the NCAA Tournament and sitting at home on the couch, and the difference between seeing a prized recruit in Johnnies’ red or watching him come to the Garden, warming up at the other end of the floor.

Dan Martin
St. John’s 2013
@Dan_MartinWSJU

Players want to play for winners. That would be the perception by most people these days and it should be. No high school player wants to play for a school that has no history, no winning ways and nothing to build for in the future. They say in college a player plays for the name on the front of the jersey not the back. Steve Lavin must show recruits that the name on the front, St. Johns, hasn’t lost its history, its winning ways and show the recruits how they can be the build of the future. This is achieved threw winning, now and through the rest of the season.

My feeling is that come Christmas, Lavin will have more wins the recruits. I think the recruits will start to sign when they see that Lavin isn’t all talk. Players know he can be cunning and is a seller but before they want to buy they will want to be assured their investment won’t be a mistake. Lavin needs to show the players what he can do with the players he’s given now. He needs to show recruits how he can mold players. Point guards now a days love to go play at Kentucky. Why, because Coach John Calipari has produced back to back Rookie of the Year players in the NBA in the past two years. Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans played for Calipari at Memphis and won the awards. Both point guards, both benefited from Calipari and this year’s possible winner, John Wall, another point guard from Calipari’s system.

During the time of Norm Roberts, recruits didn’t seem to want to come or at least the high end talents like a Lance Stephenson who decided to play at Cincinnati because he said their coach was better then Norm. Norm didn’t appeal to the players. Norm didn’t put a single player into the NBA. Lavin has his NBA players in Baron Davis, Trevor Ariza as well as other players, but he has to prove to players like Jabari Brown, D’Angelo Harrison, Myles Mack and a slew of other players who all have St. Johns in consideration that coming to St. Johns is the best move for them. He has shown Maurice Harkless that St. Johns was a better place to be rather then UConn. That’s one big step in the right direction. Recruits lead 1 nothing to wins but I think he will have more wins before Christmas. Lavin also has one thing that Norm didn’t have, coaches around him. Mike Dunlap, Rico Hines and Tony Chiles are great assets to Lavin’s arsenal.

To quote the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, he will come.” To break it down, winning is what needs to be built and once that happens the recruits will come. Harkless is on board; now let’s see what kind of dreams Lavin can field with these recruits.

Timmy Dzeladini-Dimas
St. John’s 2013
@TimmyD_WSJU